We’d like to add our own stamp of approval to the ones already there.

It’s official: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will not take place this summer, in 2020, but have been postponed until July 23, 2021 out of concern due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

As it’s the first time in history that the games have been postponed as opposed to being outright canceled, the International Olympic Committee had an unprecedented decision to make surrounding the games’ marketing and branding in terms of the use of “2020.” While they ultimately decided to leave the “2020” on promotional items untouched, that hasn’t stopped net users from displaying creative solutions for updated logos to reflect the year change, including the following proposal by @OsamuKosaki:

“At the advice of my friend I’ve come up with a perfected version of the Olympic logo now that the games have been delayed. No matter how you look at it it’s Japanese through and through.”

So what about his design signals a unique “Japanese-ness”? It all lies in the presence of three hanko stamps that parody a typical act of interoffice paperwork approval in a Japanese company or organization. A hanko is a type of personal seal used in Japan in official contexts where westerners would most likely provide a hand signature. While a typical hanko stamp is circular in shape, encloses a person’s last name in kanji, and is usually done in red ink, we’ve also seen some fun variations such as the ever-growing Pokémon hanko collection and Studio Ghibli hanko.

In the upper-right corner of @OsamuKosaki’s Olympics logo design are two boxes that read “approved” with two hanko stamps included. The stamp in the box on the left reads “Abe” for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the stamp in the box on the right reads “Koike” for Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The third stamp partially erases the “0” in “2020” and reads “Mori” for Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori. While ultimately a parody, the inclusion of these three stamps presumably signals that Abe, Koike, and Mori, who were all important parties involved in the decision to postpone the games, have given their approval for the new logo design in the same way that paperwork of all natures are handled and approved in offices throughout Japan.

If the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has you feeling a bit glum, take a look at these cherry blossoms caught in a rare spring snowfall in Tokyo the other day for some scenes that will take your breath away.

Source: Twitter/@OsamuKosaki via Twicolle
Featured image: Twitter/@OsamuKosaki
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